


Oasis Revelations

by Captains_Orders



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gay Male Character, Gen, Road Trips, Self-Discovery, Swimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-11 04:02:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13516185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captains_Orders/pseuds/Captains_Orders
Summary: In the unbearable desert heat of Leide the prince’s entourage discovers an oasis, and Cor realizes something about himself.





	Oasis Revelations

**Author's Note:**

> Cor Leonis Week day one prompt - Cor during his younger years.  
> I've had this idea floating around in my head for a while now so I figured this was the perfect opportunity to go ahead with it. Cor finally realizes why he has no interest in girls.
> 
> Unbetad

The desert heat was sweltering, dry air making Leide feel like an oven as they made their way to the nearest haven to rest. Cor tugs at the collar of his uniform, trying to get some sort of airflow between the layers of black and his sweaty skin. It was miserable, they were all miserable, and if it weren’t for Weskham making sure they all had full canteens before they set out this morning he was convinced they would have already met a grizzly end. At least that's how Regis made it sound with all his whining. At the front of their little party the prince was trudging on rather sullenly, bemoaning the hot weather with every spare breath. 

“How much further is the haven? If I walk for much longer I feel I might faint.”

“Oh quit,” Clarus scolds from beside his charge, smacking him lightly on the back of his head. “If you complained less you’d feel better.”

“Just another mile or so to go, Highness,” Weskham cuts in before the two can fall into another spat. Cor sighs, kicking a rock in front of him and watching it skip uphill before it tumbles back down, trying to focus on anything besides how hot and miserable he felt.

“Y'all ain’t even seen hot yet, this is just an average summer here in Leide. Best get used to it,” Cid grumbles from beside him, the old man had removed his jacket and tied it around his waist the moment they’d left the Regalia like the other three, but he hadn’t complained once since they started walking. He even seemed to sweat less, but Cor was sure that was just his imagination.

“You know for a fact that Insomnia never reaches this temperature, it’s only natural for us to be more affected than a native such as yourself.”

“Don’t give me that, Weskham. I think you’re just sayin’ that so Reggie has an excuse to complain,” Cid says, exasperated.

“I prefer to call it empathetic understanding. You must admit this heat is miserable.”

“Not nearly as miserable as it could be,” Cid grumbles back, but before another argument can develop the prince interrupts them.

“Some good luck at last!” Regis exclaims from where he and Clarus stand at the top of the hill, and they both disappear down the other side before the rest of them can get a word in. 

Weskham makes a rather undignified noise and races after them and Cor is quick to follow. The king had ordered him to protect the prince, and Cor would do so no matter what, even if he was annoying. When he crests the hill it's to the sight of the last thing any of them expected. Water, crisp and clear, glistening at the bottom of the little oasis like a gift from the Astrals. 

“Well I’ll be damned,” Cid pants as he comes to a stop beside him, removing his hat and using it to fan air against his face. “Don’t find one of these every day.” 

They begin their descent together, while the other three already stand at the bank admiring the view, and then Clarus has to go and take his shirt off. 

“I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m not passing up the chance to swim on a day like this,” he says, discarding his tank top on a nearby rock and following it with his jacket. Cor tries not to stare, he really does, but it’s hard not to follow the lines of thick corded muscle befitting a shield, or the elaborate tattoos on his arms and back. That’s what he was looking at really, the tattoo, it was cool, tattoos were cool. Then he drops his pants and Cor feels his cheeks go hot beyond the sun’s constant beating, and he’s only released from his trance when Clarus runs into the water with a joyous cry. 

“Well count me in!” Regis grins and begins unbuttoning his shirt, Cor looks down pointedly and begins to trace the laces of his boots with his eyes. Huh he’d missed a eyelet last time he’d done them up, he’d have to fix that when they got to the haven. 

“Cor! You should join us, the water’s great!” He looks back up at the sound of his name, brain shorting out a little at the sight of Clarus and Regis with Weskham too now, shirtless and wet, and staring at him expectantly. Oh no. 

“S-Someone has to stand guard!” He manages to get out indignantly and all Clarus does is throw his head back and laugh. 

“Suit yourself, kid,” the Shield shrugs and immediately goes back to splashing the prince with water, their laughter dissolving into a rather dramatic water fight. 

“What about you, Cid? Not interested in cooling off?” Weskham seems unbothered by the water fight going on beside him, and Cor’s eyes can’t seem to decide where or who to settle on. 

“Oh no, it’ll feel even worse when y'all get out and I ain’t young enough to fall for nature’s tricks.” Weskham laughs but doesn’t try to coerce him further, instead turning his back to them to watch the prince and his Shield wrestle with crossed arms and poorly hidden amusement. 

After that the three men in the spring ignore them, and Cor stares and thinks, and realizes, and curses himself in the silence. The warm feeling fluttering in his belly is new, and he can’t ignore it. None of the girls in his classes had ever made him feel like this, none of the romances in movies with a beautiful woman made him swoon, his first kiss was a miserable memory, and Cor quite suddenly knows why. Shit. 

“You know when I was your age there was this fella down in-” Cid begins, sidling up to him and throwing a fatherly arm around his shoulders as he goes on to regale him with a story Cor definitely did not want to hear right now. 

“Nope!” He scrambles away from the old man and desperately tries to straighten himself up, pulling his hat low over his eyes in an attempt to hide his red cheeks. 

“Hey, Cor!” Despite the fact that the last thing he wanted to do was see any of the three men in the pool half naked again, Cor lifts his hat just enough to meet Weskham’s eyes, pointedly ignoring the rest of him. 

“Y-yes?”

“You look a little red. Why don’t you grab the sunscreen from my pack, I’m sure Cid will be happy to tell you how miserable you’ll be if you get sunburned.”

“Uh, right, I’ll do that.” He almost salutes, like he wasn’t embarrassed enough already, and turns to walk stiffly back up the hill where all the bags save his own had been abandoned in the group’s haste to reach the water. 

“Don’t worry, kid, I’ll keep an eye on things. You’ll be fine.” There’s no teasing in Cid’s eyes when he glances over his shoulder at him, just a knowing stare full of understanding. Cor turns away.

“Right, I’ll be back soon.” 

“And grab the towels while you’re at it!” He doesn’t reply to Clarus’s call, but he’s sure they can see the thumbs up he flashes above his head as he crests the hill and practically hides behind it as he rifles through Weskham’s bag. 

This road trip was going to be so much more difficult now...


End file.
